[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermons Resources for July 10 - Part 2

[Joe Parrish]

An Extravagant Gesture of Grace
This past week I visited an old friend dying of cancer. The hospice nurse said he had 3-5 days to live. I went to remind him of all the things he had taught me in life as an artist. Once I viewed one of his works and I said, “Tell me what that means.” He said, “If I tell you, that’s all you will ever see there.” I never forgot this truth and have employed it in zillions of ways over the years.
What struck me as a tight-fisted approach on his part, at first, actually became an extravagant gesture of grace, because it has encouraged a “good soil” part of me to look creatively at art, literature, music, people, ideas, etc., in open and receptive ways. There is now a part of me that regularly asks what may be seeking me there, calling me to understand, to respond. Good soil is that part of us that seeks to let God do his thing with us — affirm us and stimulate us to produce the kind of caring and generous spirits which only a prodigiously extravagant God, a God almost wasteful with his grace, can produce.

David Zersen 
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A Kudzu Kind of Kingdom
 
At times we wonder if our prayers get above the ceiling, if we have any Christian influence, if the church makes any real difference in the community, if faith is anything more than wishful thinking. A herd of buffalo was grazing on the range where the deer and the antelope play. Suddenly, a cowboy came riding up, jumped off his horse, got right up in the face of a buffalo and said, "You are the sorriest excuse for a buffalo I ever saw. Your eyes are bloodshot, your fur is dirty and matted, and you stink." with that he jumped back on his horse and rode away. The buffalo turned to his neighbor and said, "You know, I think I just heard a discouraging word."
 
All of us have to deal with discouragement from time to time. So did Jesus' disciples. When Jesus sensed that their morale was down, he told three parables that are recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. Those parables tell us that the Kingdom of God has something in common with kudzu, the unofficial state flower of Mississippi. In fact, some folks credit kudzu with having preventing the whole state of Mississippi from being washed down the river. For the sake of you who may be new to the south, let me explain that kudzu is that leafy vine that you often see growing up telephone poles or covering little valleys down here. If we ever find a commercial use for the stuff, the South will surely rise again. Nothing can grow like kudzu. It is the only plant whose growth is measured in miles per hour. You remember the story of Jack and the Beanstalk? That was no beanstalk; it was a kudzu stem . The best way to plant kudzu is to throw it over your shoulder and run. It's important to plant kudzu at the right time. Always do it at night. If you do it in broad daylight, your neighbors will take you to court.
 
We Christians are part of a kudzu-kind of kingdom. When Christians are faithful, God blesses his kingdom with prodigious growth and transforming influence.
 
Collected Sermons, Bill Bouknight, www.eSermons.com
 
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Good Intentions Won’t Get It Done
 
Pastor John Beukema shares an experience he had a few years ago that really opened his eyes to the parable of the seeds that failed to take root on different types of soil. He had just lead a wildly successful evangelistic crusade. Many people signed commitment cards indicating that they wanted to commit their lives to Jesus. But only a week after the crusade, when Pastor Beukema visited some of these people, he discovered that many of them had already lost their enthusiasm.
 
A single mother, overwhelmed by her family's needs, had quickly lost the joy she'd found during the evangelistic services. A teenager decided against becoming a Christian because he feared his friends' ridicule. A businessman decided that he wasn't ready to let his faith change his life. He retreated back to his old comfort zone.
 
That happens. We live in a world of people with good intentions. But good intentions won't get it done. To make a difference in the world requires a high level of commitment.
 
King Duncan, Birdbaths and Flagpoles, www.eSermons.com
 
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A Wise Old Bird
 
There is a story about an old man who always had witty and wise answers for people who asked him anything. Once, a smart-alecky came to him with his hands covering something he was holding. He told the sage that he had a small, newly hatched bird in his hands. He challenged the old man to tell him whether the bird was alive or dead. He, of course, planned to prove the old man wrong, because if he said the bird was dead, he would simply open his hands to expose a perfectly healthy baby bird. But if he said the bird was alive, then he would crush the bird before opening his hands. The old man proved wiser than he thought, because he said, "The bird is whatever you choose him to be."
 
And that's the way it is with the kingdom of God. The choice for the kingdom to live or die is within your grasp. What do you chose?
 
Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com
 
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Top Ten Things I Have Learned from Gardening
 
10. We really do "reap what we sow". Good seeds bear good fruit.
 
9. Without rains and storms there is no growth - no fruit is produced.
 
8. When weeding, be careful! We can't always tell the difference between a nasty weed and a beautiful flower.
 
7. Deep roots are a good thing. Without them, we'll wither and die.
 
6. Pruning and trimming, as painful as it seems, actually works to our advantage…
 
The conclusion to this list and for many additional illustrations and sermons for Proper 10 can be accessed at www.Sermons.com.
 



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